Knitting machine and method



Oct. 29,1940. 7 M, c I 2,219,607

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 25, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 nun nu numuuuuunn nnnunnunnuuunH n MIC/#7624 Z/M/c BY I ATT RNEYS.

IN VEN TOR.

Oct. 29, 1940. M. zuvuc KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 25, 1959 6 Sfieets-Sheet 2 f v INVENTOR. M/cmqls-L Z/M/c BY fAfToRNEYs.

Oct. 29, 1940.

M. ZlMlC KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 25, 1939 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VEN TOR.

OCt. 29, 1940. Z|M|C KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed May 25, 1939 s a 9% Nu s 8 Q INVENTOR. M/CY/QEL Z/M/C BY M ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 29, 1940. M. ZIMIC KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Filed May 25, 1939 6 SheetsSheet 5 Oct. 29, 1940. Z|M|C KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD Patented Oct. 29, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE 9 Claims.

mechanism, and to preselect 1 other needles for similar transfer at another knitting position, during said course of travel, so as to perform knitting -operations at said other positions at which the first named needles again operate to form stitches.

The inventive idea involved is capable of receiving avariety of expressions one of which, for purposes of illustration, is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic top plan View of a. lock mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention and illustrating the position of parts at the beginning of the formationof a design in a piece of fabric being knitted.

Figure 2 is 'a View similar to Figure 1 showing the position of parts at an advanced stage of the formation of said design.

Figure 3 is a transverse section taken through the lock mechanism and associated parts, substantially on the line 33 of Figure 1. v

Figure 4 is a top plan view, partly broken away, of the lock mechanism employed in connection with the present invention.

Figure 5-is a horizontal section of the rear portion of the lock mechanism taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figures 6, '7 and 8 are diagrammatic views illustrating various positions of the yarncontrol mechanism when a single continuous piece of fabric is knitted by the machine.

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of the lock mechanism and yarn control when a plurality of separate pieces of fabric are being knitted by the machine.

Figure 10 is a side elevation, partly broken away and shown in section, of the'yarn control mechanism, and

Figure 11 is a top plan view of said mechanism, partly broken away andshown in section.

With the present machine and according to the instant method, it is possible to knit various types of stitches such as plain ones which are formed by operating all theneedles from the front bed of the machine; purl stitches such as .are made by alternately shifting or transferring: all the needles'from one bed to another; .and links. and link stitches that are made by transferring certain selected needles from the front. to the rear bed 5 and operating said needles from the rear bed to form various designsin the knitted fabric.

Reference will first be'made to Figures 1 and .2 in which there is shown diagrammatically the lock mechanism and associated'parts embodying 1'0 novel features. of. the present invention. In Figure 1, there is illustrated thefirststepin forming a design, such asa diamond for example, in which, according'to one of the principal features of the invention, thenumber of links andlink stitches is varied (progressively increased in a. diamond design) in thetwo initial, concurrently formed rows during a'sing-le courseoftravel of thelock mechanismfrom left toright and at, two difierent knittingstages; while Figure 2 shows the final step in the operation wherein the two rows of stitches forming the next greatest and the greatest widths of the first half of the design are also made in a singlemovement of the lock mechanism from left to rightand, at two diiierent stages in this movement, More specifically, in the first movement of. the lock mechanism, three needles are preselected to form the first two rows of the design and,in accordance with the present invention, one of .said needles forms stitchesin both said rows, while the other two needles form stitches only in .the I second row. For the next movementef the lock mechanism from right to left, four needles are preselected, two on each side of thefirst needles. and two of said four needles form stitches in the next two rows while the remaining two needles make stitches only in the fourthrow. During the latter movement of the lock mechanism, theneedles firstpreselected and'which formed the initial .two rows, also make stitches in the third andfourth rows. Then, with the final movement of the mechanism (Figure 2) which produces the greatest width of the design. four more needles are) preselected, two .on each side of the previously operated needles, and the same operation referred to takes placetoproduce the fifth and, sixth rows ofstitches. From the pointof greatest width, the number of stitches each of the succeeding rows is progressively decreased, as will be herein- 59 after apparent, to. complete the diamond design. It will be understood, of course, that the diamond referred to is only illustrative .of one of innumerabledesigns which may be accomplished within the scope of the invention, since the needles employed to form any design are selectively operable at will by a means such as a jacquard mechamsm.

In Figures 1 and 2, the reciprocating lock mechanism of the knitting machine, which travels over and operates the various needles 20, comprises the front and. rear lock assemblies generally indicated by the numerals 2| and 22. The front assembly 2|, which travels over the front bed of the machine, is utilized to control the needle jacks the butts of which are indicated at 23. Insofar as the assembly 2| is concerned, the same is more or less of standard construction in which a series of cams are combined to form a channel 24 by means of which the'butts 23 are guided through a series of knitting positions during one course of travel of the lock mechanism; that is, a movement thereof in one direction'as distinguished from a complete round of travel. These knitting positions are generally indicated at 25, 26 and 21. When the lock mechanism is moving from left to right, knitting operations are effected at positions 25 and 26, and when moving from right to left, knitting operations are performed at positions 21, 26. The parts of the lock mechanism, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, are disposed for operation during the movement of the mechanism from left to right, and consequently, knitting is taking place at positions 25 and 26. A movable lock 28 adjacent the right-hand entrance to the channel 24 is adjusted so that the butts 23 of the needle jacks will be advanced toward the first position 25, and, after being so advanced to similarly operate an associated needle in the customary manner, the jacks and needles are retracted and pass a pivoted lock 29 of a known type which is spring pressed to normally close the channel 24. At this point, after the lock mechanism has passed over the jacks, the customary stitch cams 30 then become effective to tighten the loops formed at the first knitting position, after which the same operation is repeated at position 25 and the stitch cams 3|. A pivoted lock 32, similar to the lock 29, is in its normal position, and a slidable lock 33, similar to the lock 28, is in an advanced position. Consequently, the butts 23, after being passed by the stitch cams 3|, are guided through the rear channel 34, and no knitting operation is performed at position 21. Thus through the single movement of the lock mechanism from left to right, all needles then in the front bed of the machine are operated to form what may be referred to as plain stitches at the two positions 25, 26. On the movement of the lock mechanism from right to left the positions of the locks 28, 33 are reversed and, as a consequence, the needle jacks will be caused, by the lock 33, to first enter the knitting position 21 after which they pass the pivoted lock 32 and the stitch cams 3| to the knitting position 26 from whence they pass out of the mechanism inback of the knitting position 25.

The rear assembly 22 of the lock mechanism comprises a series of locks which combine to form front, intermediate and rear butt channels 35, 36, and 31, and three knitting positions generally indicated at 38, 39, and 49; the two positions 38, 39 being effective during the left to right movement of the lock mechanism while knitting operations are performed at positions 40, 39 on the right to left movement of the mechanism. At the points 4| and 42 adjacent the positions 38 and 46 the channels 36 and 31 communicate with each other for a purpose which will appear in the course of the description. The butts 43 of the r-ear needle jacks pass through the channel 35 and are either operated or not, for knitting purposes, depending upon the positions of the associated jacquard or push jacks whose butts are shown at 44.

When it is desired to transfer or shift needles from the front to the rear bed to form links and link stitches, a jacquard mechanism, conventionally indicated at 45, is employed to control the advance of the jacks 44 to either one of two positions so that certain of the butts of said jacks will enter channel 36 while others will enter channel 31. By such operations of the jacquard jacks, there is accomplished a pr-eselection of those needles which are to be transferred to the rear bed of the machine and subsequently operated to form stitches of a design, and the advancement of said jacks 44 to different positions results in the transfer, at the first knitting position 38, of the front needle opposed to the more advanced jack or jacks; also, the more advanced jack joints, through the communicating channel 4|, with the lesser advanced jacks 44 so that at the second position 39, the transferred needle, or needles, performs another knitting operation while the needles in the front bed opposed to the lesser advanced jacks 44 are transferred, at said position 39, to the rear bed to also form stitches. The advancement of the jacquard jacks to different positions is accomplished through the use of short and long pattern lugs or clips 46 and 41 which may be of the type disclosed in U. S. Patent #1,701,522 dated February 12, 1929. It may be said at this point that when all the needles are being operated by the front assembly 2| to form plain stitches, the jacquard mech-- anism 45 does not operate to advance the jacks 44 and, consequently, the butts of these jacks will pass to the rear of the assembly 22, as indicated at 48. Therefore, the rear needle jacks 43 will not be advanced to engage a front needle and transfer the same to the rear bed.

A specific knitting operation involving the formation of a design will now be described and, for this purpose, there has been selected, as illustrative, a design of diamond shape wherein the links and link stitches forming said design are progressively increased in succeeding knitted rows until the greatest width of the design is attained, and are then progressively decreased until the design is complete. Let it be assumed that, at the beginning of the operation, all the needles are in the front bed, and that needles are to be preselected from said front bed to form the first two rows of the knitted design, each containing a different number of stitches and both formed during a single movement of the lock mechanism from left to right. The first step in the operation is shown in Figure 1, wherein the jacquard mechanism 45 has been moved to a position in which two short pattern lugs 46 are disposed on opposite sides of a long lug 41. As the mechanism is advanced in the usual manner, the long lug 41 will first contact the opposed jack 44 and advance the same to the position indicated at 49 Where it will be aligned with the entrance to the intermediate channel 36. The advancement of the jack preselects the associated needle jack 50 in the rear bed and also the opposed needle 5| in the front bed, for a transfer and knitting operation at position 38. As the jack 49 is advanced, the lugs 46 also advance the jacquard jacks 52 to a position where they are aligned with the rear channel 31, and the ad vancement of said jacks 52 preselects the corresponding rear needle jacks 53. and needles 54' in the front bed. However, according to. the present invention, the transfer of the. two. needles 54 is not effected until the. second knitting stage 39 is reached. Thus, by the preselection just described, a single stitch is made by the needle 5| at position 38 to form the first row of the design, and the concurrently formed second row containing three stitches made by the one needle 5! and the two needles 54, is accomplished at position 39.

The three needles having now been preselected for the first operation, the lockmechanism starts its movement from left to right and those needies in the. front bed which have not beenpreselected are operated in the ordinary manner by the front lock assembly 2| to form plain stitches because the non-advancedjacquard jacks 44 pass to the rear of the assembly 22., At the righthand entrance to the intermediate channel 36, there provided a slidable lock 55-which is advanced during the present operation so as to open the channel 36 at'this point and close communication between said channel and the channel 35. Therefore, the butts 43 o-fall the rear needle jacks will be guided tothe channel 35, and the butt of the more advanced jacquard jack ts will enter the channel 36, while the butts of the two jacks 52 will enter thechannel 31. It

will be understood that, at this point of the operation, the jacquard jack 49 is not advanced sufficiently far to contact the rear end of the associated needle jack 43 and that this contact is not made until the actual transfer of the needle 5! is effected at the knitting'position 38; also, all of the butts of the needle jacks 43 with the exception of the jack 5!] will follow the course indicated along the forward edge of the cam '55. At this knitting position 38, the jacquard jack 49 is advanced by the cam 5'6 to contact the needle jack 5%], with the result that the latter is also advanced tothe position shown to engage the adjacent hook of the needle 51 which has been advanced by its front jack 23 at the position 25. A recess 58 in the lower edge of a cam .59 permits the engagement of the rear needle jack with the hook of the needle 5|, in a manner well-known in the art, and when said needle has moved past said recess, to the position shown in the drawings, and its upper edge is engaged by the projecting portion 60 of said cam 59,. said portion will maintain said engagement of the needle jack and hook, while a recess Bl formed in the bottom edge of acam GZin the front assemblyfl, under which the front-ends of the. need-1e 5i and itsassociated front jack 23 pass, will permit said front jack totilt upwardly to disengage from the fronthook of theneedle-as a rearward pull is'exerted upon the latter by the transferpf the needle 5| to thezrear bed. As,

the movement ofthelock mechanism progresses the various butts of the rear needle jacks are furtherretracted by thestitch cams 64 and the needle 5i is withdrawn to the rear bed to complete-the firstv stitch in the design, Thebutt of the advanced jacquard jack 48, after passing the cam bl, enters thecommunicating channel llt between the. channels 36 and. 3], and there joins the butts of the jacquard jacks .52 which due-to their lesser advanced stage, have performed no operation of: advancing any jacks 43 at position 38. Upon reaching. the. second :knitting position 39, the butts of the jacquard jacks 4.8, 52, are advanced by the cam 6.5 and, in sodoing, said jacks advancelthe associated rear need-1e jacks 5t, 53,

with theresult that-the transferred needle 5| is operated preparatory to forma stitch and the in the channel 35, as described in connection with the cams 59,, 62, and lock 53, to effect the transfer of the two needles 54 to the rear bed to form the three loops of the second row of stitches of the design. The usual stitch cams 12 then operate the rear needle jacks in the customary manner after which the latter pass the pivoted springpressed lock 13 which, at this time, is swung forward toclose the entrance to the final knitting position 40. The butts of said needlejacks then pass out of the lock mechanism between the pairs of opposed cams 14 and T5. After passing the cam 65, the three jacquard jacks 49, 52, are retracted in the channel 37 and successively pass to the rear of the advanced movable cam 15 and the stationary lock H, at which point said jacquard jacks join the row of jacks M which have not been operated upon by the jacquard mechanism 45. Thus, the first operation of forming two complete rows of the design, each including different numbers of stitches, is completed.

Before thelock mechanism starts its second movement, from right to left, to form the next two rows of the design containing different numbers of stitches, four more needles are preselected for transfer from the front to the rear bed, and

adjustments of certain of the locks in the two assemblies 2|, 22 are effected. The preselection of the four additional needles is accomplished, as before, through the medium of the jacquard mechanism 45. As said mechanism is operated preparatory to the exit knitting performance, two long' and two short pattern lugs indicated in dotted lines by the numerals 18 and H! at the upper left-hand corner of Figure Larebrought into alignment with corresponding jacquard jacks, it being understood that the first three pattern lugs 45, 4? employed in the first operation have now been passed out of the alignment with the jacquard jacks by the mechanism 45 which brought the lugs i8, 79 into alignment with said Also, in the rear assembly 22, the positions of the lock '55 and the corresponding lock 89 at the left-hand end of the assembly, are reversed, Further, the lock 16 is retracted and the corresponding lock 8| advanced.

In the jacquard mechanism 45, the two long lugs T8 are disposed outside the positions in which the short lugs 46 are arranged, while the two short lugs 19 are outside the long lugs 18. Thus, as the mechanism 45 is actuated to advance these various lugs, the four jacquard jacks opposed to said lugs are advanced to different positions, as will be apparent from the previous description, so that the butts of the two furthest advanced jacks will enter the left hand end of the channel 36 while the jacks advanced by the lugs 1'9 will enter the rear'channel 31, asthe lock mechanism starts its movement from right to left. With the sliding lock now in its advanced position, which is the position in which the corresponding lock 55 at the other end of the channel 36 is shown, the butts of the rear needle jacks 43 will be advanced into the first knitting position 48. When the two more advanced jacquard jacks in the channel 36 are actuated by the cam 82, the two opposed needles in the front bed are engaged by the forward ends of the rear needle jacks and a transfer of said needles to the rear bed is effected when the advanced needle jacks engage the vertically movable lock 83 which is lowered at this time, and which corresponds to the lock 63 at position 38. The recessed cams 84 and 85 at position 40, corresponding to cams 59, 62 at position 38, assist in the transfer operation of the needles in the manner which is now believed to be understood from the foregoing description. With respect to the three needles which were transferred to the rear bed during the first operation of the carriage, the needle jacks to which said needles are now connected, and which are directed into the channel 35 by the lock 88 at position 48, are controlled in the customary manner by the front cam 14 to perform the usual knitting operation. Thus, at said knitting position, where the third row of the design is being knitted, the three original needles combine with the two needles on opposite sides thereof which are being transferred at this stage of the operation to form five stitches. The two further advanced jacquard jacks, after being engaged by the cam 82 to perform the transfer operation, pass into the communicating channel 42 between the channels 35 and 3'! and then join the two lesser advanced jacquard jacks which have been actuated by the short lugs 19. After the four jacks are joined the same pass in front of the then retracted lock 16 and all four jacks approach the second knitting position 39. At this point said jacks are advanced by the cam 65 and the two jacks which accomplished the transfer of two of the needles at position 48 again operate their needle jacks to cause the associated needles in the rear bed to again form stitches. The other two jacquard jacks, which originally entered the channel 31, operate their associated needle jacks toadvance the same so as to effect the transfer of the associated needles from the front to the rear bed and to form additional stitches. At knitting position 39, the three needles which were transferred to the rear bed on the first operation of the lock mechanism are again actuated by their needle jacks to form stitches in the customary manner. Therefore, at this position, where the fourth row of the design isbeing knitted, stitches are formed by the three originally transferred needles and the four adjacent needles on opposite sides thereof. After the needle jacks have passed the knitting position 39 and the stitch cams 64 the same will be directed, by the pivoted lock 86 which is now in the position of the corresponding lock 13 shown at position 40, into the channel 36 between the cams 56 and 51, from whence the butts of said jacks exit from the lock mechanism in the same manner as described in the first operation. The second operation of said mechanism is thus completed.

Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown therein the final operation in completing the first half of the diamond design, in which operation four more needles for each repeat of the design are preselected prior to the movement of the lock mechanism from left to right as in the first operation. These needles are indicated at the lower'right-hand end of Fig. 2 by the numerals 81 and 88, the needles 8'! being preselected by the two long pattern lugs 89 in the jacquard mechanism 45, while the needles 88 are preselected by the short lugs 90. In the same manner as previously described, the lugs 89 advance the associated jacquard jacks 9| into alignment with the intermediate channel 36, while the short lugs 90 advance the jacks 92 into alignment with the rear channel 31. As the lock mechanism moves to the right the rear needle jacks of the seven needles which have been previously transferred to the rear bed are again operated at position 38 by the cam 56 to form seven stitches in the fifth row of the design and, in addition to the operation of these needles, the cam 51 operates the jacquard jacks 9| so as to advance the corresponding needle jacks for the purpose of engaging the opposed needles 8'! in the front bed and transferring the same to the rear bed at position 38 to add two more stitches to said fifth row of the design. At the same time that the jacks 9| are so controlled, the butts of the jacks 92 pass through the channel 31 to the rear of the cam 51 so as not to perform any operation at position 38. After being actuated by the cam 57, the jacks 9| are guided through the communicating channel 4| into the channel 31 where they join the jacks 92. After passing in front of the lock 8|, which is at this time retracted, the four jacks 9|, 92 are advanced toward the second knitting position 39 whereat, as previously, the two needles which were transferred at position 38, together with the seven previously transferred needles are again operated to form stitches; and the needles in the front bed opposed to the jacks 92 are engaged by the corresponding needle jacks in the rear bed to shift said needles to the latter bed so as to form two additional stitches, thus making eleven stitches at position 39 tocomplete the sixth andfinal row representing the greatest width of the design. As heretofore described, after the needles have passed the second knitting position and have been actuated by the stitch cams 12 the jacks of said needles exit from the lock mechanism between cams '14, I5, while the four jacquard jacks utilized to control the last operation pass behind the lock 16 and join the remaining similar jacks in back of the cam I1.

Upon completion of the fifth and sixth rows of design stitches, the operation of progressively decreasing the number of stitches in each two rows formed by one movement of the lock mechanism, is accomplished. The first decrease in the number of said stitches occurs during the next movement of the lock mechanism from right to left. Before this movement starts, the jacquard mechanism 45 is again operated in the usual manner to adjust to operative position, with respect to jacquard jacks, certain pattern lugs which will be effective in preselecting the proper rear needle jacks necessary to transfer associated needles from the rear to the front bed of the machine to accomplish the progressive reduction of the number of design stitches. Generally speaking, this progressive reduction occurs in the same manner as described in connection with the increase in the number of stitches of the different rows in the design; that is to say, at the first knitting position 40 on the movement of the mechanism toward the left, the two extreme needles 81 of the eleven needles which will continue its travel in a straight line beneath were transferred to therear bed to complete the row of stitches forming the greatest width of the design are now transferred from the rear to the front bed; while at the second knitting position 39 the next two outside needles 88 are similarly transferred, so that in the single movement of the lock mechanism from right to left two rows of stitches are made in which the number of said stitches in each row is first reduced to nine and then to seven. To attain this result, the pattern lugs on the jacquard mechanism are arranged in a reversed position from that which .is shown at the upper left-hand corner of Figure 2. In

of said rear cam 14.

other words, where the short lugs 90 are shown in the latter figure, two long lugs are mounted in corresponding positions on the jacquard mechanism, and where the two long lugs 89 are shown, there are mounted two short lugs. With this reversed arrangement of pattern lugs, it will be apparent that as the jacquard mechanism is moved forward, the two long lugs individual to the extreme outside needles 81 will advance the associated jacquard jack' butts to positions in alignment with the left-hand entrance of the intermediate channel 36, as described in connection' with the jacks 9|; while the two short lugs of the jacquard mechanism will align the associated jacquard? jack butts with the rear channel 31. Also, before movement of the carriage from right to left, the positions of the slidin'g locks 80 and 55, at the entrances to the channel 36 asshown in'Figure 2, are reversed; and:th'e locks 83, 1|, and 83 at the three knitting positions of the rear assembly are raised so as't'o be inoperative during the reciprocating movement of the lock mechanism and'while the lengths of therows of the design stitches are being decreased.

With the foregoing conditions existing, the lock mechanism starts its movement from right to left and the butts of the front and rear'needle jacks 23, 43 enter their respective channels 34 and 35 at the left-hand end of the lock mechanism. Also, thetwo jacquard jacks which have been furthest advanced enter the left-hand channel 35 while the other two. jacquard jacks advanced by'the short pattern lugs enter the channel 31. In the front assembly 2| of the lock mechanism, the positions of the two locks 33, 28 are reversed from that shown in the drawings and, therefore, butts 23 will be advanced toward the'knitting position 21. Likewise, the butts of the rear needle jacks are guided forwardly to the knitting position 40 so as to pass in front of theforward cam 14 at said position. The two butts of the jacquard jacks entering the intermediate channel 38 areadvanced by the rear cam 14 andupon reaching the knitting position are further advanced by the cam 82 forming a part Aseach jacquard jack is advanced by the cam 82 it also advances the corresponding needle jacks to a position similar to that of the needle jack (Figure 1). Immediately following this advancement, the opposed front needle jack reaches its furthest advanced point at position 21 in the front assembly and, at the same time, attains a position beneath the recess 98 in the lower surface of the cam 85, so that the forward extremity of said'needle jack will engage over the hook of the needle in the rear'bed which has been advanced by engagement of the associated rear needle'ja'ck with the lock 82. With the lock 88 raised to an inoperative position out of the path of travel of the advanced butt of the rear needle jack, said butt passing beneath the said lock 83 until the butt of the corresponding front needle'jack starts its retracting movement in the channel 24 at position 21. At this instant, the engaged ends of the front needle jack and the hook of the needle then in the rear bed, will have passed beyond the recess 93 in the cam 85 and the under-surface of said cam will maintain such engagement. At the same time, the rear hook of said needle and the forward end of the rear needle jack will passbeneath the recess 94 in the cam '84 and, therefore, as the front needle jack is retracted in the channel 24, the rear hook of the needle will release'itself, because of said recess 94, from the forward end of the rear needle jack and the needle will therefore be transferred from the rear to thefront bed to form a plain stitch. The other needle 81 is actuated in the same manner as just described and, as a consequence, at the first knitting position 40, the number of design stitches will be reduced to nine.

The front and rear needle jacks now pass from the opposed needle positions 21, 40, toward the stitch cams 3!, 12 respectively, while the butts of the two jacquard jacks which have been actuated by the cam 82 will pass into the rear channel 31 through the communicating channel 42 and join the butts of the other two jacquard jacks which have entered said channel 31. During this present operation, the sliding lock 18 is retracted while the similar lock 8| is advanced. Therefore, the four butts of the jacquard jacks will pass in front of the lock 18 and will thereafter be advanced toward the second knitting position 39. At this position, the four jacquard jacks will be advanced by-the cam 65, but the advancement of the two jacks which have efiected the transfer of the needles 81 to the front bed at the first knitting position has no effect at the second position. However, the two other jacquard packs associated with the two needles 88 advance the corresponding rear needle jacks and their needles and this operation, in cooperation with the advancement of the frontneedle jacks 23 at position 26,-results in the transfer of the two needles 88 from the rear to the front bed in the following manner. At the furthest advanced position of each front needle jack, the rear end thereof will pass beneath therecess 61 in the cam 69 and will engage with the front heck of the needle 88 which has been advanced by its jacquard jack through engagement of the latter with the lock 85. After recess the needle is held in the hook of the front needle jack'by engagement of said parts with the lower time, the rear hook of the needle and its associ'ated rear needle jack pass beneath the recess 86 in the cam 58. Vertically adjustable lock 95, at the front knitting position 28, is lowered-to its operative position at thistime and is effective to start the retraction of the front needle jacks. Consequently, as this retraction occurs, with the rear end of the front jack and the front hook of the needle beneath the portion 95 of the cam 69 and the rear hook of the said needle in the recess 66 in the cam 88, the needle 88 will be withdrawn from the rear bed into the front bed. As both of the needles 88 are so shifted, the number of needles in the rear bed forming design stitches is reduced to seven. Passing from the second knitting position, the butts of the front and rear needle jacks asd the jacquard jacks will exit from the lock mechanism in. the same manher as previously described without any knitting operation being performed at the third position 25, 38.

Prior to the next movement of the lock mechanism from left to right, preselection of four more rear needle jacks and their associated needles, with the consequent transfer of two of such needles from the rear to the front bed at position 38 and the other two needles at the second position 39, is accomplished in a manner which is now believed to be understood from the prior description of the movement of the lock mechanism from right to left. Thus this reduction operation is repeated during each course of travel of the lock mechanism until the diamond design is completed.

In a purling operation wherein all of the needles are alternately shifted from one bed to another at each of the knitting positions, the jacquard mechanism 45 is inoperative so that all of the jacquard jacks 40 will pass along the rear assembly 22 without having any effect upon the rear needle jacks. Assuming that at the beginning of a purling operation the lock mechanism is at the left-hand end of the machine and all of the needles 20 are in the front bed thereof, the front jacks 23 enter the channel 24 of the front assembly and are operated in the same manner as previously, while the rear needle jacks 43 enter the channel 35 of therear assembly, upon movement of the lock mechanism from left to right. The front needle jacks 23 and the needles are advanced at position 25, and at position 38 the vertically adjustable lock 63 is lowered to its operative position and a similarly adjustable lock 91 in the channel 35, which has been raised and out of operation, is now also lowered to its operative position. Under this condition, the rear needle jacks are advanced by said lock 97 to assume the same position as described in connection with jack 50 shown at position 38 in Figure 1. The advancement of all of the rear needle jacks in this manner causes them to engage the adjacent hooks of the associated needles in the front bed and, through the intermediary of the cams 59, 62 and the recesses therein, and the cooperation of the lock 63, said needles are transferred from the front to the rear bed in a manner which is now believed to be understood from the previous description. At the second knitting position 39, the look ".I is now raised out of its operative position while a lock 98, similar to the lock 9! at position 38, is lowered to its operative position so as to advance the rear needle jacks and their needles so that the front hooks of the latter will be engaged by the front jacks 23 as these are advanced at position 26. Through the arrangement of recesses in the undersides of the cams 08, 09, and with the lock 'II raised, all of the needles of the rear bed are now transferred to the front bed, as previously described in connection with the individual needles in the design operation. After the second knitting operation has been performed, the front and rear needle jacks follow the courses indicated in the drawings at positions 21 and 40 and the butts of said jacks exit from the lock mechanism Without performing a knitting operation at the third knitting position.

Upon the return movement of the lock mechanism from right to left, the lock 83 at position 40 is lowered to its operative position and the vertically adjustable lock 00, similar to the locks 01', 90, is also lowered to an operative position and these two locks cooperate, in the same man,-

ner as the locks 63, 91, to advance the rear needle jacks'so asto engage with the needle then in the front bed and transfer them to the rear bed at the first knitting position. At the second knitting position, the lock TI at position 39 is again raised and the lock 98 lowered, and at opposed position 26, the lock 06 is also lowered. Therefore, the front and rear needle jacks are so actuated at the second knitting position as to effeet the transfer of the needles from the rear to the front bed. On this movement from right to left, the pivoted locks 29 and 86 at the third knitting position in the front and rear assembly are in the same relative positions of the similar locks 32, I3, at the left-hand end of the lock mechanism. Consequently, the butts of the front and rear needle jacks will not be advanced at the third knitting position and will pass from the lock mechanism without performing a knitting operation.

' The apparatus for controlling the operation of the various adjustable locks will now be described. Generally speaking, this apparatus is of a more or less conventional nature and is disclosed sufiiciently in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings to enable those skilled in the art to obtain a full understanding of the operation of the various locks. As illustrated in Figure 4, the lock mechanism includes the front and rear plates generally indicated by the numerals I and IM which are disposed, respectively, above the lock assemblies 2|, 22. These plates are joined adjacent their ends by arches I02, I03 so that the two plates which carry the lock assemblies will move in unison as the lock mechanism reciprocates above the needle beds.

For the purpose of controlling the two diagonally sliding locks 28, 33, of the front assembly there is provided a pair of slider bars or sliders I 04, I05, the first named of which is shown in plan view in the broken away portion at the lower right-hand corner of Figure 4. These sliders are stepped at their opposite ends and are controlled, in the manner well-known in the art as by mechanism such as illustrated in Patent #2,003,674, dated June 4, 1935, so as to be alternately shifted in opposite directions when the lock mechanism reaches the end of a course of its travel in either direction. The lower slider I05 carries two cams such as the one indicated by the numeral I06 which is in association with lock 28, the other cam cooperating with the lock 33. The lock 28 carries an abutment I01 which is engaged by a leaf spring I08 to normally retain the lock 28 in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2. This position of lock 28, as shown in Figure 4, is attained when the lock mechanism has completed its movement from right to left, at which time, the upper slider I04 is contacted at its left-hand end and moved to the right, which movement results, from the usual geared interconnection of the two sliders, in a corresponding movement of the lower slider I05 to the left. The movement of the slider I05 to the left, at this point, causes the cam I06 associated with the lock 33 to adjust the latter to the position shown at the left of Figures 1 and 2 so as to open the channel 34 and thus permit the butts of the front jacks 23 to exit from the lock mechanism without passing through the knitting position 21 upon the next movement of said mechanism from left to right. Also, the slider I05, moving to the left, permits the lock 28 to restore to the position shown in Figure 4 by reason of the similar movement of the cam-l96 and pressure of the spring I98.

As best shown in Figure 5, two sliders I94a and H350. are utilized to control the locks 55 and 39 in the same manner in which locks-28, 33 are operated, the sliders I95a carrying cams I99a and each lock being engaged by a-leaf spring Above the plates I99, I9I, two stitchlbckcontrol sliders I99, II9 are mounted for longitudinal movements in the same direction.

These two sliders are connected by the usual rocker shaft III supported by the arch I93, and the ends of the slider I99 are stepped, like the sliders I94, I95, so that said slider may be shifted longitudinally at predetermined intervals when it is desired to alter the positionsof the stitch cams in the front and rear assemblies. Through the rocker shaft connection -I H it will be apparent that when the slider I99, is shifted, a similar movement will be transmitted to-the slider II9. Both of these sliders carry the series of cams I I2, with each series associated with one of the groups of stitch locks 39, SI, and 94, '52. As best shown in Figure 5, each series of stitch locks has associated. therewith a sliding biock I I3 which is actuated by a pin 4 that is, in turn, operated by one of the cams H2, depending upon the position of" the associated slider, to shift the stitch locks to the desired position. 1

The control of the lock 96 in the front assembly and of the locks 63, 91, at position 38 in the rear assembly, locks II, 98at position 39, and locks 83, 99 at position 49, will now be described. All of these locks are under the control of the superposed sliders I I5, IIG-mounted for longitudinal movements in opposite direc tions over the front plate I99. 'Th'e slider I I5 carries a guide II1 in which is mounted, for vertical movement, the lock 96'carrying at its upper end a roller II9 adapted to contact with a cam II9 movable with the slider I I5 so as to raise the lock 99 or permitthe same to drop to its operative position, depending upon the position to which the slider H5 is adjusted at the end of a predetermined movement of the lock mechanism. The movements of the slider II5 are transmitted to the slider I29, positioned over the rear plate I9I, through the rocker shaft connection l2! carried by the arch I92. For the control of the two locks 63, 91 at the rear knit-- ting position 39, there is provided 'a guide I22 (see Figures 3 and 4) in which the two locks are vertically slidable and these two locks carry rollers I23and I24 respectively. A cam I25 is mounted upon the slider I29 and is engaged by both of the rollers I23, I24. This. cam has-its effective surface cut, in a manner well-known in the art, so that, depending upon the position of the slider I29, the locks 63, 91, will be raised or lowered to perform their different functions. The control of the locks 1|, 98 and 83, 99 is accomplished in the same'manner as just described in connection with the locks 63, 91.

The operation of the rear locks 16, 8I will now be described. These looks, as shown in Figure 5, are controlled by the two sliders I26, I21 which, like the other sliders, I94, I95, are movable longitudinally in opposite directions at the end of each course of travel of the lock mechanism so as to alternately advance and retract said locks 16, SI. In order that the movements in opposite directions of the sliders may be accomplished, the same are provided with" lrack teeth I28, engaged by the gears I29, this being the type of'gearing previously referred to for moving the other sliders in opposite directions. The rear edges of the two sliders I26, I21 are provided wi-th recesses I39, I31 which are adapted to be brought into and out of registry with each other by the movements of the sliders. When in registry, as indicated in connection with the lock'19, a leaf spring I32 urges said lock forwardly to. advance the abutment I33 of said look into the registered recesses. When this conditions' exists, the recesses I39, l-3I associated with the lock 9! are out of registry and the abutment I34 of said lock is forced rearwardly by the edges of the sliders against the tension of thespring I35 of the lock 9!. Upon the next adjustment of the sliders I29, I21, the recesses I39, I9! associated with the lock 19 will be out of registry andthe similar recesses associated with the lock 8| will be brought into registry with the result that the positions of the two leeks will be reversed.

When accomplishing double knitting at two different stages of the operation of the lock mechanism, ashereinbefore described, two different yarns-arefed to the needles, one in advance of the other. Heretofore, it has been customary to employ, onthe carriage of the lock mechanism, two longitudinally spaced yarn carriers for this purpese'and, at the end of each course of travel of said mechanism, the relative positions of these carriers is reversed so that the carrier and its yarn which were leading during the previous movement, again are in advance of the other carrier and yarn. on thereturn movement. In customary practice, this reversal of the yarn carriers does not take place until the advanced carrier, during the movement of the lock mechanism in either direction has passed a distance beyond the edge of the fabric being knitted and, as a consequence, the yarn of said advancing carrier,

during said movement beyond said edge and its return movement in the opposite direction atthe time of said reversal and before it is again engaged with the needles to start another row of knitting, forms a long, loose loop.

In accordance with the present invention, and as shown in Figures 6 to 8, the formation of these long-loops at 'theedges of the fabric is eliminated and-a consequent material saving in the amount of yarn used, is thereby effected. Briefly, this result is attained by a relative longitudinal movement betweenthe two yarn carriers immediately after the advanced carrier has passed an edge of the knitted fabric, which relative movement is produced by stopping said advanced carrier at a point justbeyond said edge of the fabric and as soon as its yarn has been'acted upon by the last needle at the end of the needle bed, and then continuing to move the following carrier until it reaches a position alongside the first named carrier as indicated in Figure '1.

Referring more specifically to Figures 6 to 8, the movable carriage of the lock mechanism is conventionally indicated at I39, and mounted transversely of said carriage there are three sup-- porting bars I31, I39 and I39 which are arranged above the three guide rails I49, I'M-and I42 that extend longitudinally of the machine. Saidfigures are employed to illustratethe operating conditions when a single, continuous piece of fabricis being knitted and when only two yarn carriers, conventionally shown at I43, 144, are used-on 0pposite sides of the rail I 49 to feed the yarns to the needles. In Figure 6, the carriers are shown in longitudinally spaced relationship, with the carriage I36 moving from left to right. A propelling pin I45 on the crossbar I31, the control of which pin will be hereinafter described in connection with Figures 10 and 11, is lowered to its operative position to engage the carrier I43 and propel it along the rail I40, while a similar pin I46 on the bar I38 likewise engages the carrier I44 mounted on the other side of said rail. In this longitudinally spaced relation, the carriers are moved along by the carriage I36 until the position of Figure 7 is reached at the end of the course of travel of said carriage from left to right. Upon reaching this position, the carrier I43 is first released from its pin I45, by a lifting of the pin in a manner well known and which will later appear, and comes to a stop just beyond the end of the fabric indicated by the dotted line I4'I. Continued movement of the carriage I36 to the end of its course of travel, then brings the carrier I44 alongside the carrier I43 and the former is then released from its pin I46. Before the carriage starts its return movement, as indicated in Figure 8, the control mechanism (Figures 10 and 11) for the various carrier pins is operated to raise the pin I45 and lower the pin I48 on the bar I39, the pin I46 remaining in its lowered position. Consequently, the pin I48 will first pick up the carrier I43 at its position shown in Figure 7, followed by a pick up of the carrier I44 by the pin I46, and the two carriers will then move along toward the left-hand end of the machine in the relative positions shown in Figure 8. At the termination of said movement, said carriers will again be released in the relative positions of Figure '7 and upon the reversal of the positions of the pins I45 and I48 and return movement of the carriage to the right, the condition illustrated in Figure 6 will again be effected.

In Figure 9, the sequence of operation of the yarn carriers is diagrammatically illustrated for the knitting of a plurality of separate pieces of fabric three of which are indicated by the numerals I49, I50, and I5I. In this operation, all three of the guide rails I40, MI and I42 are employed and a plurality of yarn carriers are mounted on said rails and so arranged for successive and selective operation by the lock mechanism; that the open spaces between adjacent edges of the different pieces of fabric will be reduced to a minimum. The lock mechanism carriage I36 is shown in its movement from left to right of the machine and during the knitting of the piece of fabric I49. Under this condition the advanced yarn carrier I 43 on the rail I40 is being propelled by the lowered pin I45, while a second yarn carrier I52 on the rail I M, longitudinally spaced from the carrier I43, is being moved along said rail by the lowered pin I53. When the right hand edge of the fabric I49 has been completed the advanced yarn carrier I43 is released, as indicated by the dotted line position between the adjacent edges of the fabrics I49 and I50. At the same time, a lowered pin I54 on the cross-bar I31 picks up a yarn carrier I55 on the rail I42. Continued movement of the carriage I36 brings the carrier I52 to a position opposite the released carrier I43 and at this position said carrier I52 is also released. Concurrently with this latter release, a lowered pin I56 on the bar I38 picks up a carrier I51 mounted on the center rail MI and moves this carrier along its rail in following relation to the carrier I55 on the rail I 42 while the fabric I50 is being knitted. Upon reaching the position between the adjacent edges of the two fabrics I50, I5I the two carriers I55 and I57 are successively released from their respective propelling pins and the lowered pins I45 and I53 are successively engaged with carriers I58 and I59, respectively, so as to propel these carriers to positions just beyond the right-hand edge of the fabric I5I where they are released in the dotted line positions indicated. When the carriage I36 reaches the end of its course of travel the control mechanism of Figures 10 and 11 is operated to raise the propelling pins I45, I54 on the bar I31 and lower the pins I48 and I60 on the bar I39, the pins I53 and I56 remaining in their lowered positions. On the return movement of the carriage to the left, the lowered pin I46 first picks up the carrier I58, followed by engagement of the pin I53 with the carrier I50. Upon completion of the knitting operation on the fabric I5I, said two carriers are released at their full line positions between the fabrics I50, I5I and the pins I60 and I56 pick up the two carriers I55 and I5'I, respectively, which were left at this position during the previous movement of the carriage I36 to the right. The carriers I55 and I51 are dropped at the full line positions between the fabrics I49 and I50 and the carriers I43 and I52 are picked up successively, in a manner now understood, to accomplish the knitting operation on the fabric I49. At the left-hand edge of the fabric I49, the two carriers I43, I52 are released and the carriage then moves on to complete its travel to the left-hand end of the machine where the mechanism of Figures 10 and 11 again operates to reverse the positions of the propelling pins I45, I54 and I48, I60 so that said pins will again assume the positions shown in Figure 9, thus completing a cycle of the operations which occur during a round of travel of the carriage. The pin I6I on the bar I36 is provided in the event that another yarn carrier is utilized to perform an additional operation, said carrier being placed upon the rail I42 on the side thereof opposite the carrier I55.

Referring now to the detailed construction of the yarn control mechanism shown in Figures 0 and 11, this apparatus comprises a supporting beam I62 mounted upon the arches I02, I03 of the movable carriage above the stationary carrier guide rails. The three cross bars I31, I38 and I39 join end and middle castings I 63 and I64 forming a part of the beam I62 and, as best shown at the right of Figure 10, said castings carry the vertically disposed sleeve bearings I35 in which the various propelling pins I45, etc, are slidably mounted and normally urged downwardly to their operative positions by springs I66 so as to engage in grooves I61 formed in the upper surfaces of the various yarn carriers. In order to release the yarn carriers from. their respective propelling pins so as to stop the ca"- riers at their predetermined positions as described in connection with Figures 6 to 9, the rails I40, MI and I42 have mounted on opposite sides thereof, and in the path of movement of the carriers, a plurality of pin elevating cams, one of which is indicated at I68 on the rail M6 in association with the carrier I43 and pin E45. Each of these cams I68 is, in accordance with common practice, longitudinally adjustable on its rail and disposed in the path of travel of its propelling pin so that a bevelled portion of the latter will engage said cam and be lifted from the groove I61 against the tension of the spring I66. 'When so lifted, the associated yarn carrier comes to a stop at the desired position.

The adjustment of the various propelling pins to raised or lowered positions is accomplished through the medium of a plurality of cams which are rotated, as will later appear, to either. raisehave associated therewith, respectively, the cams I69 and I10 mounted on the stub shafts I1I,' I12 journaled in the castings I63 at the right-hand end of the carriage. Similarly, cams I13, I14 are supported by individual shafts mounted in the castings I63 at the left-handend of the carriage to'control, respectively, the propelling pins I48, I60. Mounted in the middle casting I64 are two separate aligned shafts I15 and I16." The shaft I15 carries two cams I11, I18 associated with the pins I46 and.l56j while the shaft I16 carries the cams I19 and I for controlling the operations of thepins I53 and I6I. The periphery of each cam engages with a roller I8I carried by an extension I82 secured t0 the upper end of each of the propelling pins so that said pin is lifted when the roller'is engaged by high point of the cam and lowered when the roller contacts a low point thereof. The arrangement of the three propelling pins shown in Figure 10 is in accordance with the condition of operation existing in Figure 6. Thus, the cams I69 and I11 have been rotated to permit the pins I45 and I46 to be lowered so as to engage their respective carriers I43, I44, while the cam I13 has been turned to elevate the pin I48. Inasmuch as the pin I46 remains in its operative position at all times, as described in connection with Figures 6 to 8, the cam I11 is cut and positioned relative to its roller I8I so that the partial rotation thereof, which occurs at the end of each course of travel of the carriage, will not efiect said pin;

whereas, the cams I69 and I13'are cut and positioned relative to their respective rollers to raise or lower the associated pins upon each operation of the cams.

The mechanism for operating the various cams I69, etc., comprises a horizontal plate I83 supported upon the beam I62, and on which is slidably mounted for movement in opposite directions the two sliders I84, E85. Each of the these sliders is formed in two sections extending on opposite sides of the central structure including the cross bar I38, and the two sections of the slider I84 are joined by a rack bar 86, while the two sections of the slider !85 are connected by the rack bar I81. The inner opposed edges of the two sliders are provided with sets of rack teeth I88, I89 engaged, respectively, by pinions I99 and I9I whereby said sliders will move in opposite directions relative to each other whenever one of them is operated at the end of a course of travel of the carriage. In order to vary the amount of movements of the sliders to control the degree of rotation of the various cams I69 etc., the ends of the sliders are stepped, as indicated at I92, to form a plurality of shoulders which are variously engaged by adjustable abutments, wellknown in the art, located at opposite ends of the machine. As the sliders are thus moved in opposite directions, rack bars I93 and I94 on the sliders 685, 284 will rotate the gears I95 and I96 on the shafts Ill and H2 so as to control, respectively, the positions of the cams I69 and I10 at the right-hand end of the carriage. The shafts of the dams I13and I14 at the left-hand end of the carriage have gears I91 and I98 thereon, which'are-rotated by the racks I99 and 200 on thesliders I85 and I 84. At the center position, the shaft I15 carries a gear 2M which engages therack bar I81 so as to be rotated thereby, while the shaft I16 carries a gear 202 which is rotated by the rack bar I86, and the rotation of these two gears will effect the proper adjustment of the terms I 11, I18 and I19, I80 to produce the desired adjustment of the associated propelling pins.-

. What is claimed is:

1. The method of knitting with a links and links machine "including a reciprocating lock mechanism having multiple knitting positions, which comprises shifting certain needles from one bed of the machine to the opposed bed thereof at 'oneof said knitting positions to form loops at said positions during one course of travel of said mechanism, and shifting other needles from one bed'tofanotheryduring the same course of travelof said mechanism, ata different one'o'f said-positions to form other loops at the latter position. v 1

2. The method of knitting with a links and links machine including a reciprocating lock mechanism having multiple knitting positions, which comprises shifting certain needles from one bed of the machine to the opposed bed thereof at one of said knitting positions to form loops at said positions during one course of travelof said mechanism, forming difierent loops With' said needles at another of said positions during said course of travel, and shifting other needles from one bed to another at the latter position and during said same course of travel to form other loops at the last named position.

3. The method of knitting with a links and links machine including a reciprocating lock mechanism having multiple knitting positions, which comprises shifting from one needle bed. to another a certain number of needles at one of said positions to form loops thereat during one course of travel of said mechanism, and shifting a diiierent number of needles, during the same course of travel, at another of said positions to form'other loops at the latter position.

4. The method-of knitting with alinks and links machine including a reciprocating lock. mechanism having multiple knitting Positions,-

5. The method of knitting with a links and links machine including a reciprocating lock mechanism having multiple. knitting positions, which comprises, during a single course of travel of said mechanism, shifting a needle from one needle bed to another at one of said positions to form a loop thereat, operating said needle at a second position to form another loop, and shifting a different needle, at said second position,

at the latter position.

6. The method of knitting with a links and links machine including a reciprocating lock from one bed to the other to form another loop 1 7. The method of knitting with a movable lock I mechanism having multiple knitting positions, which comprises preselecting certain needles for knitting operations at two of said positions and others at one of said positions during a single course of travel of said mechanism by moving jacks of said needles to different stages of advancement relative to said mechanism, operating certain of said jacks at the first of said two positions to transfer associated needles from one needle bed to another to form loops and again operating the latter needles at the second of said positions to form other loops, and operating the other advanced jacks at only the second of said positions to transfer associated needles from one bed to another to form loops at said position.

8. A links and links knitting machine comprising,,in combination, opposed needle beds, a reciprocatoryv lock mechanism cooperating therewith and having a plurality of knitting positions, meansto transfer certain needles of the machine from one bed to another at one of said positions during one course of travel of said lock mechanism, and means to transfer other needles from the first to the second mentioned bed at a different knitting position during the same course of travel of said lock mechanism.

9. A links and links knitting machine comprising, in combination, opposed needle beds, a reciprocatory lock mechanism cooperating therewith and having a plurality of knitting posi: tions, means to transfer certainvneedles of the machine from one bed to another at one of said positions during one course of travel of saidlock mechanism, means to again. operate said needles at a second knitting position during the same course of travel, and means also operative during said course for transferring other needles from the first to the second mentioned bed at said second position.

MICHAEL ZIMIC. 

